User blog:RedDevilNL6/Short Story: Bookstore Date?
WARNING: this SS was translated by combining the results of multiple machine translators ontop of an already translated Chinese version of this SS!! it's been brought to my attention that, eventhough the bigger picture of my translations are correct, there are indeed some translation mistakes and some of the real meanings have been lost!! Don't read my translations unless you can accept the fact that these are not 100% accurate!! If Yen Press asks me to take these down, I will do so without any hesitation. I'm not trying to break their copyright, I'm just making these short stories available to the English fanbase because it doesn't look like they're planning on translating them. Even if Yen Press don't ask me to take them down, I will still do so the moment I find out that they're actually planning on translating them. ---- Bookstore Date? (本屋デート？) is a special story that was given out to people who bought DanMachi volume 10 at Bookwalker. It was later included as a part of the DanMachi 5th Anniversary Campaign. ---- “Mr. Cranell?” It was a sunny and pleasant afternoon. The elf went out to buy some ingredients for the tavern and came across Bell right around a corner. “Ah… Oh, miss Ryuu.” While Bell responded immediately, it was as if the words ‘THIS IS BAD!’ were written on his face in capital letters. The young man wasn’t wearing any of his usual adventurer’s equipment, just ordinary casual clothes. Meanwhile he was holding something in his hands. That something would be a pile of books. “These books… What are you doing with them?” “Ha, ha ha… no, that…” He was walking around with a pile of books, so she just asked him about it, but all she got in return was an empty smile. Bell was red-faced and sweating profusely. As he protected the books and slowly retreated, Ryuu immediatly narrowed her dark green eyes. He had a guilty conscience – was the little yellow book in his hands actually a really shameful book? If it’s like that, Ryuu just couldn’t give up. In order to investigate the young man, but also to show off the unique cleanliness of an elf, she quickly approached him with lightning speed. The speed of her attack was definitely that of a second-class adventurer. She took a book away from Bell’s chest as he was still shocked by her quick movement. “Ha Ah!?” “This is… a fairy tale? No, a hero story?” Despite Bell’s strange scream, she still opened the book right away and was greeted by an illustration. There was a brave female elf aiming at a giant monster and releasing a cold blow of snow magic. “No, this one, that…! When I was sorting out the basement of the library, I found a few books I read as a child. I started reading them and became fascinated…!?” “......” “Then, that, since I wasn’t going to the dungeon today, I thought this was a rare opportunity, so why not go to the bookstore and collect some…” Bell started arguing in panic, but as a result he started stuttering and finally his voice dissapeared completely. It seems like Bell doesn’t want others to know that he’s still collecting hero stories at his age. At that point Ryuu saw him shyly lowering his head as his face was completely red from all the blushing. Sure Ryuu was surprised by this incident but she immediately started to smile. She didn’t think there was anything shameful about it, it would be better to say that it was just his style. At the same time though, she felt guilty about having suspected Bell of hiding something bad. “...... Didn’t you get a bag to carry the books?” “I actually brought one… but the bottem was ripped open.” Ryuu returned the book to Bell and asked, as he responded with a shy smile. After listening to the boy, she immediately volunteerd. “Ok, I’ll accompany you.” “Huh?” “You’re carrying too many books, I’ll help you.” Although Bell’s behavior was really suspicious, she couldn’t forgive herself for suspecting him. In short, the elf with the serious nature, wanted to atone for it. Hearing her proposal, the boy clearly felt bad for her. “No, no, I don’t want to trouble you, and miss Ryuu is still on duty as well…” “You don’t need to worry about that, as long we’re done before nightfall.” she said. In order to convince the Bell, she immediately used the lines he had long wanted to hear. “This journey will definitely become a difficult one, after all, if you wish to pursue the legend of the heroic Albert, you must travel through this vast labyrinth city.” The embarrasing yet pursuasive lines were like the legends from the ancient books where the heroes embarked on their adventures. Although Bell was still a bit shy, he couldn’t help blinking his eyes and smiling with delight after seeing Ryuu’s valiant look. It was as if his big sister was telling him a story about heroes. “So… please, give me a lot of advice, and be my companion on this difficult journey.” “Yes, I will accompany you!” As Ryuu was amused by the boys smile, the female elf and the human boy began searching for more books about heroes. First they went and bought two sturdy bags to pack the books in and than began their ‘treasure hunt’ in the eastern part of the city. The hero stories Bell was looking for were almost all ‘unofficial’, making it impossible to buy them all in one place. They visited bookstores run by elfs, open-air vendors with little stalls full of merchandise and even the flea market. The two sometimes stood on the tips of their toes in the dimly lit stores to reach out to the bookcase, sometimes they bend over at the flea market to look at the cover of a book. Whenever they found one of the books Bell wanted, he issued a cheer. With two people it was a lot easier for Bell to search for his books than it was on his own. “Miss Ryuu, miss Ryuu.” “?” While Ryuu and Bell were shopping, someone greeted her. The other party was a regular customer and a supplier of ingredients for the ‘Hostess of Fertility’, the tavern where Ryuu works. She gave Bell a gesture and they walked towards the woman who was waving at them. “I see you finally found yourself a good man!” “……?” “Don’t take me for a fool! The two of you are on a date right?” It took Ryuu a while to realize whate the loud lady just said. “Ryuu would always take the initiative as a child, so I always hoped a beautiful child like you would quickly find herself a good man… After all, you never had time for men, so I’ve been worrying about you for a long time. Now I can finally have some piece of mind!” The lady looked back and forth between Bell and Ryuu who were waiting for the conversation to end. The two of them were carrying the same kind of bags. Plus, they’ve been laughing and chatting all the time while leisurely strolling around various bookstores. So, in the eyes of others, this could’ve actually looked like they were on a date. (So that’s what it is… That’s not going to work…) “And look at that, isn't that the Rookie that won the war game!? You’ve gotten yourself a good--“ “This is not a date.” “Huh, but--“ “This is not a date.” “Oh, miss Ryuu- “This is not a date. Also, you can absolutely never tell Syr about this.” “Fine, fine.” Bell made sure to firmly say the important part three times. In the face of such a serious looking Ryuu, the ingredients providing lady nodded her head as if it were a garlic. (This isn’t a date, I didn’t think so. There is no doubt about this. But certainly, this would be too much for Syr to handle…… It seems like Mr Cranell thought the same…… No, this was just casual…… This was all just because I was suspicious of him, but to abandon him for my own convenience would be too shameless……) thought Ryuu. Looking back and forth between Bell and the lady, the heart of the elf was extremely tangled. Her extremely troubled feelings were sandwitched between her devotion to Syr and her apology to the boy. “It seems like that person is your acquaintance… uh, miss Ryuu, what’s wrong?” “Oh, It’s nothing, let’s go.” Returning to Bell’s side, she finally decided to continue searching for books with him. At the same time in a corner of her heart, she was apologizing to her female colleague. “I’ve collected so many…… Thank you so much, miss Ryuu!” “I’m glad I was able to help you” she said. When they were done shopping, they sat down on a bench on the east side of the central square. The bags placed at their feet were bulging. Bell was extremely satisfied after finding such a large number of his targeted books. Watching his expression, her own expression softened as well. “Miss Ryuu, did you also read hero stories when you were a child?” “No, my family were guardians… our family had been guarding the secret location of the elfs for generations, so I missed out on such things. Even after coming to the city…… If you can, can you tell me about them?” As the fountain in front of them reflected the sunlight, and Bell heard what she just said, his expression brightened even more. He looked like an excited rabbit. “I understand, leave it to me!” he said. “Uh, Oratoria should be obvious to everyone… maybe George’s Legend… but it’s a little too unpopular, ehhhhh-“ It was a bit of a surprise to see bell like this, who had taken a book out of the bag in front of him. But it also created a fresh feeling. Bell also had such a side to him, he would be really enthusiastic when talking about subjects that were familiar to him. “But, my grandfather said he liked the story of Argonaut the most….” He knew a lot of stories Ryuu never heard of so he told her one story after another. Whenever he talked about the hero stories, his red eyes shimmered. Just like gems, pure crimson gems. As she listened to the stories, she was deeply attracted by his radiance, she felt like her mind was at peace. The mood between them grudually warmed up as well, and at the same time she felt a sweet anxiety in her heart. On her face a blooming smile unconsiously appeared. “I…… I like how you tell these stories.” She breathed out a whisper. This whisper managed to reach the youngster’s ears as well, as he fell silent. “huh……?” Bell froze, his face turning red in the blink of an eye. It was only then that she realized the situation was wrong, while she felt her face was getting a little hot. “No, just now… That, please don’t misunderstand. It was probably because of that smile, or, like an innocent child, it was probably this kind of feeling…” “Child... innocent child…… Ah” Ryuu hurriedly corrected herself as Bell suddenly felt dejected. Seeing the boy so depressed, Ryuu was somewhat at a loss. Even if she tried to correct herself again, it would only cause more embarrassment, she could no longer speak freely. Because the heat in her face hat not yet dissapeared, her heart was still beating fast as well. At this point she could only keep her small lips together. (This is not a lie…) The next moment, Ryuu lowered her eyes and faced her own feelings. (I like… the beautiful eyes that illuminate hope, just like so many of those stories.) After finally recognizing what she truelly thought, she raised her head. “Mr Cranell… What I said just now is not a lie.” Sitting on the bench, she looked straight ahead to avoid making eye contact. She looked at the splashing fountain and talked to Bell, who also lifted his head. “So…… please, keep telling me these stories.” (-- I want to keep looking at your charming eyes.) She conveyed the most eager desire in her heart to the boy. She gently took the book from the boy’s hands and put it in her lap, only to see that the cover was wrinkled. “Ok” he said. The innocent voice of the young man fiddled with the slender elf’s ears. Ryuu caressed the cover of the book and closed her eyes with a quiet smile. Category:Blog posts Category:SS Translations